Apart from running Puppy Linux from a full hard disk drive (H.D.D.) installation or from a LiveDVD, it is also possible to run it as a frugal installation, performed by extracting the contents of the container ISO or ZIP file to virtually any type of FAT32, NTFS, or EXT2/3/4 formatted partition.

When a frugal installation is desired it is convenient to have a LiveDVD because it can be used to install the required boot loader (either GRUB, SYSLINUX, or EXTLINUX depending on the formatting of the installation partition). Instructions are also provided below for situations when not using an optical drive.